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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Friday on the sidelines of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Russian town of Ufa.
Senior Indian and Pakistani officials told The Hindu that while no agreements
were yet on the agenda to be signed, broad “areas of cooperation” would be set
out to take the talks process forward. These would include relaxing regulations
for Indian and Pakistani banks, promoting more exchanges between
businesspersons and business chambers, and extending long-term visas to
Kashmiris wishing to cross over on the LoC bus. On Thursday, after days of
speculation, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted the
confirmation of the meeting: “It is confirmed. PM @narendramodi and PM Nawaz
Sharif will have a bilateral meeting in Ufa tomorrow at 9.15 a.m. on sidelines
of SCO Summit.”
Ø Pitching for closer cooperation and coordination among BRICS
nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday proposed a 10-point
initiative that includes India hosting the first trade fair for the grouping
and establishing research centres for railways and agriculture. At the plenary
session, the Prime Minister said that “the challenges that the world is faced
with are for every country. It’s important to have consensus, collaboration and
cooperation between all major nations.” The proposed initiatives for the BRICS
include a trade fair, a Railway Research Centre, cooperation among supreme audit
institutions, a Digital Initiative and an Agricultural Research Centre.
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EU President Donald Tusk said on
Thursday that Greece’s creditors must make a “realistic” proposal for managing
the country’s huge debt, as Athens faced a midnight deadline to submit reform
plans for an international bailout.
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